Hughes Hubbard & Reed

Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP (a.k.a. "Hughes Hubbard," or "HHR"), is a New York City-based international law firm among those that The American Lawyer calls "the top firms among the Nation's legal elite."

Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP
HeadquartersNew York, N.Y.
No. of offices8 (2 international)
No. of attorneys290
Major practice areasGeneral practice
Key peopleTheodore V.H. Mayer, Chair [1]
Revenue $394 million USD (2015)
Date founded1888
FounderCharles Evans Hughes[2]
Company typeLimited liability partnership
Websitewww.hugheshubbard.com

The firm's history dates back to the late 19th century when it counted among its partners former U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes.

Hughes Hubbard's work has been recognized by several leading publications, including Chambers & Partners, the Legal 500, Global Arbitration Review, Global Restructuring Review, Airfinance Journal and LatinFinance magazine. For the twelfth time, The American Lawyer named the firm to its A-List of the country's 20 leading law firms.

Hughes Hubbard has also been one of the country's leaders in promoting diversity in law firms.

In 2017, the firm received the Gold Standard Certification[3] from the Women in Law Empowerment Forum (WILEF) for the seventh consecutive year, one of only 15 firms nationally to achieve recertification seven times in a row. The firm also received a perfect score of 100 percent on the 2016, 2017 and 2018 Corporate Equality Index, a national benchmarking survey and report on corporate policies and practices related to LGBT workplace equality, administered by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation.

Hughes Hubbard has a number of practice areas in both the litigation and corporate fields, and is renowned for its pro bono achievements. The firm and a number of individual lawyers received the 2016 Pro Bono Publico Awards for providing exceptional legal services to the Legal Aid Society and its clients. Hughes Hubbard also received two "Commitment to Justice" awards from Her Justice (formerly inMotion) for its extraordinary pro bono service.

Hughes Hubbard is also consistently ranked a top firm in the American Lawyer's annual Pro Bono Survey.

History
  • 1871 - In the wake of the Great Chicago Fire, Chicago-based lawyer Walter S. Carter had so many claims to prosecute involving insurers bankrupted by the fire that he moved his office to New York City. Faced with more business than he could personally handle, Carter tried hiring the most promising law students to help him and, in a departure from standard practice, paid these "associates" a salary. One of them was then-future Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Charles Evans Hughes.
  • 1888 - Four years after joining the firm, then known as Chamberlain, Carter & Hornblower, Hughes was made partner, and the firm's name was changed to Carter, Hughes & Cravath.
  • 1910 - After two terms as governor of New York, Hughes was appointed to the Supreme Court by President William Howard Taft.
  • 1916 - Hughes resigned from the Court to run for president against Woodrow Wilson. After he was narrowly defeated, Hughes rejoined his old partners and, with the exception of the time he served as Secretary of State under Presidents Harding and Coolidge, he remained a partner in the firm until 1930.[4]
  • 1929 - Charles Evans Hughes, Jr., also a partner in the firm, resigned to become United States Solicitor General.
  • 1930 - Hughes was appointed Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court.[5] Upon his father's appointment, Charles Evans Hughes, Jr. resigned from his position as Solicitor General and rejoined the firm as a partner.[6]
  • 1937 - In June, the firm suddenly dissolved, due to what the media at the time reported was Charles Evans Hughes, Jr.'s desire to insulate his father from a political attack directed at one of Hughes, Jr.'s partners at the firm by Roosevelt's Secretary of the Treasury. On June 10, Hughes, Richards, Hubbard & Ewing opened its offices at One Wall Street, where it would remain for over 50 years.
  • In the 1960s, Hughes Hubbard started representing Coopers & Lybrand, culminating in its multibillion-dollar merger with Price Waterhouse. Other clients who have remained with the firm over multiple decades include Merck, BMI, Continental Airlines (now United) and Viacom.
  • 1966 - Hughes Hubbard became one of the first American firms to open an office in Paris. The office was opened by Axel H. Baum, who currently still works there.
  • 1968 - The firm became Hughes Hubbard & Reed.[7]
  • 1972 - Hughes Hubbard opened offices in Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles, becoming the first New York law firm to open an office in L.A.
  • In the 1970s, Hughes Hubbard defended Bristol Myers in a famous antitrust case and Ford Motor Company in the Pinto fuel tank cases, which was the start of the firm's product liability practice.[8]
  • 1980 - The firm added a number of lateral partners to bolster its banking and financial services practices in New York.
  • In the 1990s, Hughes Hubbard represented musician Bob Marley's widow against 11 people who alleged they were Marley's children and sought recovery from his substantial estate.[9]
  • 1999 - Already recognized for its record of promoting women to positions of authority, the firm again broke ground by electing Candace Beinecke as Chair of the Firm, making her the first woman to lead a major New York City law firm.[10]
  • 2007 - Hughes Hubbard led the drafting of a historic $4.85 billion global settlement program to resolve over 99.9 percent of eligible Vioxx claims against Merck alleging heart attacks, ischemic strokes and sudden cardiac death.[11]
  • 2008 - Hughes Hubbard partner James Giddens was appointed trustee for the $123 billion liquidation of Lehman Brothers, Inc., the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history, and Hughes Hubbard was selected as his counsel. In the following years, Hughes Hubbard returned $110 billion to customers and general creditors.[12]
  • 2011 - Hughes Hubbard partner James Giddens was appointed trustee for the liquidation of MF Global, the eighth-largest bankruptcy in U.S. history, and Hughes Hubbard was selected as his counsel. In the following years, Hughes Hubbard distributed $8.1 billion and achieved a full recovery for former customers and secured creditors and a 95 percent recovery for unsecured creditors.[13]
  • 2012 - Hughes Hubbard opened an office in Kansas City.
  • 2014 - Hughes Hubbard served as lead counsel to Merck in its acquisition of antibiotics maker Cubist Pharmaceuticals Inc. for $9.5 billion.[14]
  • 2015 - Hughes Hubbard represented Merck in a $3.85 billion deal to buy Idenix Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biotechnology company developing drugs to cure hepatitis C.[15]
  • 2020 - Hughes Hubbard & Reed launched a CARES Act tracker that monitors enforcement actions across the United States.[16]

Notable People and Alumni/ae

References
  2. "Firm history". Archived from the original on 2012-09-03. Retrieved 2008-10-27.
  3. "About Women In Law Empowerment Forum (WILEF)". www.wilef.com. Retrieved 2016-03-16.
  4. Scott Bomboy (April 11, 2018). "The remarkable career of Charles Evans Hughes". Constitution Daily.
  5. Abraham 2008, pp. 157–158
  6. Parrish 2002, p. 10
  7. "A Storied Law Firm with a Strong History". Hughes Hubbard & Reed. Retrieved December 21, 2018.
  8. Reginald Stuart (December 16, 1979). "Making the Case for the Pinto". The New York Times.
  9. White, Timothy (2008). Bob Marley: The life of the great reggae singer. Ediciones Robinbook. p. 404. ISBN 9788496222786.
  10. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2006-03-19. Retrieved 2006-04-11.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  11. Alex Berenson (November 10, 2007). "Analysts See Merck Victory in Vioxx Settlement". The New York Times.
  12. Roy Strom (September 18, 2018). "Hughes Hubbard's Long Lehman Brokerage Wind-Down Could End in 2019". The American Lawyer.
  13. "MF Global to start $6.7 billion customer payout". CNBC. April 3, 2014.
  14. Karlee Weinmann (December 8, 2014). "Merck Keeps Pharma M&A Flowing With $9.5B Cubist Pickup". Law360.
  15. "Merck (MRK) to Acquire Idenix Pharma (IDIX) for $24.50/Share". StreetInsider. June 9, 2014.
  16. "Legal News: Law Firm Hires, Professional Recognition and Legal Innovation". The National Law Review. Retrieved 2020-08-14.
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